CHAPTER 2 The Hide Out

The windowless room with its bare concrete walls, floor and ceiling was a perfect vertical rectangle, its northern and southern walls at least 50 ft wide and 100 ft in length for its western and eastern sides. The ceiling other than bearing several florescent light tubes that kept the entire space illuminated was entirely bare except for a 10 ft by 5 ft rectangular hollow at the mid-point of the western wall. Inside the head of the hollowed section was a door leading to the area above. A single flight of wooden stairs with double railings connected this door to the floor of the concrete room.

Various crates and wooden boxes some open others sealed were stacked neatly at most of the northern end. The southern end was a hive of activity with black control panels riddled with switches buttons, dials and gauges lining about 40 ft of the western and eastern walls beginning from the south wall.

20 ft from the south wall was a large device starting with a dark green cylinder of steel about 5ft in diameter and 3 ft high with 4 steel extensions radiating out at its base with which it was bolted to the concrete floor. Smaller control panels were mounted along the circumference of the cylinder, lit up with indicator lights and gauges with the needle jumping back and forth continuously. Thick cables were plugged into apertures at its base and trailed over to the nearest control panels in the walls.

Extending from the middle of the main cylinder's flat top was a smaller cylinder about 6 ft in height, but only 2 ft in diameter and extending from the top of this cylinder was a slightly more slender black circular shaft reaching all the way to the concrete ceiling stopping just a few inches of it. Radiating from the entire length of this final rod were several black folded dipole antennas.

3 men in grey-green shirts, dark pants with matching calf length leather boots and short, multi-pocketed open black vests sat on swivel chairs at the control panels of the base cylinder, turning dials, flicking switches and listening to headphones plugged into jacks on the panels completely absorbed in their work, oblivious to the constant hum of hidden ventilator fans that kept the air in the room circulating efficiently. A fourth similarly dressed man, a few inches over 6ft in height, with crew cut golden blond hair stood at the larger control panels on the western wall, making notes on a clip board as he studied the gauges.

Seeming to watch over all the men and the entire scene was the 4 ft plaque mounted on the southern wall of a menacing vulture with partially spread wings, talons grasping a globe of the earth, all within an inverted pentagon with longer sides and a jagged top. Large bold alphabets in red stretched across the plaque at the chest level of the vulture spelling out "KAOS".

The only element more watchful than the vulture, was the fifth man. He stood almost like a statue watching over the three men with the headphones, his back facing north. His face and features were puffed and sagging as he settled into his 60ties, with hair fading from blond to grey and white slit back and gelled to reveal a distinctive widow's peak. A monocle was held over his right eye reflecting the light from the fluorescent tubes overhead. His eyes behind monocle and without, shone with a cold intensity and focus belying his age as he surveyed his underlings before him. What made him stand out even more, was his clothing…

The older man's 6ft 2inch frame was encased in a black uniform hailing from a bygone era. Tailored flared-hip breeches tucked neatly into knee high form-fitting jack boots of high quality glossy leather. His upper body was shrouded in a black field tunic, not of cloth but curiously of black patent leather complete with gorget patches and shoulder boards. However, the red armband on his left arm did not feature the swastika but the same KAOS emblem on the wall. The utility belt that encircled his waist with a belt suspender extending from left shoulder to right hip, held a holstered Luger.

One of the men at the antenna control with neat brown hair and angular jaw put down his headphones and walked towards the older man with a clipboard. Stopping before his superior, the man clicked the heels of his shoes together and bowed slightly before presenting the clipboard.

"Vat ees eet Riehm?" the older man asked as he tucked his black ceremonial baton encrusted with silver symbols under his left arm and took the clipboard in his leather gloved hands.

"Oberführer—tensmizzions from KAOS International."

Upon reading it, the black uniformed man smiled, eyes glittering with excitement and pride.

"Very gut!" the older man declared to his subordinates "KAOS International applauds owver verk here! Owver KAOS scientists haf alvedy begun developing zhe military technologies ve obtained und tensmitted as vell as sold two of zhem to several Iron Curtain countries, incluzink East Germany—"

"Hurraaaaaa! Sieg! Sieg! Sieg! Sieg!.." all the men cheered and chanted from their stations

"—however—" the Oberführer emphasized with a raised gloved finger as he read the clipboard "—no discount for East Germany—"

"Scheißen!" all the men groaned sagging in their chairs if they were seated

"—vut," the Oberführer continued "as vecognition of owver gut verk, ve all get free new dance shoes und tailored tuxedos for zhe next Annual KAOS Dance."

"Hurraaaaaaaaa!"

A red light blinked with a loud buzzing on one of the wall control panels.

"Storch." The Oberführer said to the blond KAOS agent at the wall control panel, tilting his head towards the staircase.

Storch strides quickly to the other end of the room and went up the stairs. They could hear him talking briefly with someone before the door at the top of the stairs was closed and he came back down with several paper bags labelled 'Benny's Deli' in one hand and a large dish with a plastic cloche on it.

"Vhere is the marked vun?" their leader asked immediately.

Storch turned held out his hand with the sandwich bags offering his leader the outermost one. The Oberführer rummaged in the bag and quickly found what appeared to be two small squares of class only slightly larger than a nickel, stuck together with a black dot in the center. Another one of the men from the antenna console, in his 40ties with a thick black mustache, square jaw and predatory small black eyes, hurried over with a device consisting of a small black lighter sized box with what appeared to be a small telescope fixed on it. Taking the device, the leader put it to his monocle and examined the tiny dot held between the glass as his men waited.

Soon the Oberführer smiled again.

"Yes! Zis is the information ve haf veen vaiting for from Krycek. Zhe plans for Amelika's Poject Phalanx!" he held up the square of glass announcing to his men. "Vith zis sold to Amelika's enemies und developed by owver KAOS scientists, ve vill zoon bring zis kapitalist zesspool to its knees und avenge owver defeat in the var!"

"Hurraaaaaa!" all the men chorused fists pumping in the air.

"Hensel!"

The third man from the antenna control, the youngest in his mid 20ties with side-parting wavy dark brown hair and round framed glasses stood and came over.

"Haf zhe plans translated for tensmission! Evyvun! Lunch!"

"Ja Oberführer!" Hensel nodded taking the glass squares as well as a bag of sandwich and walking to a long work table lining the northern wall between the control panels and beneath the KAOS plaque.

"Oberführer. Zhe courier reported vad news." Storch reported as the other KAOS agents each took a bag from him. "Owver netverk haz been vaided by CONTLO."

"I zee." The leader nodded in thought as he opened up his own paper bag.

"Krycek haz veen avested along vith most of zhe agents from owver five food vetail establishment flonts. Baroyev is dead." Storch continued

"Scheißen!" the leader shook his head in dismay as he kept rummaging in his paper bag. "Und Heinrich?"

"Dead as vell."

"Gut!" the Oberführer declared crumpling up his paper bag and tossing it away onto a nearby table. "Dummkopf gave me YELLOW mustard again instead of WEISSWURSTSENF! Haf zhe orders been given to close down und re-establish zhe netverk?"

"Ja. As ve speak, accorzing to your potocol, Oberführer." Storch confirmed.

"Shud ve not go as vell Oberführer?" the mustached KAOS agent asked as he munched on his thick sandwich.

"Nein, Arnheiter." The leader shook his head, light flickering off his monocle. "It vill take too long to set up zhe antenna again und zis latest tensmission ees crucial. Hensel! Haf zhe plans veady for tensmission by three a'clock!"

"Ja Oberführer!" Hensel acknowledged as he relaxed at the work bench with his meatball sub.

"Vut Oberführer." Riehm asked unwrapping his food "Ve visk exposure if ve tensmit in the day."

"Ha!" their black uniformed leader scoffed twirling the black baton skillfully in his gloved fingers "Zhese kapitalists are vools! Zhey are zo busy valking und talking to their animals und fussink vith their children zhey barely look up! Vonce ve vinish tensmitting, ve dismantle und move to our alternate location before CONTLOL even comes near us.—" he looks at the covered dish Storch was still holding and tapped it with the silver ornate end cap of his baton. "Vhat tis zhat?"

"Ah!" Storch replied lifting the cover to reveal a moist, towering ring-shaped confectionery with swirls of white, billowy dairy product filling the hole in the center and spread over the top. "Applesauce bundt cake vith vhipped cream."

"Vich of you Dummkopfs orzered zhis?!" the leader roared at his men pointing and shaking the silver end cap of his black baton at them. "I TOLD you idiotens a million times, only orzer fom KAOS approved establishments! Not only zu you visk getting vood from a CONTLO front vhich may contain lizenning or homing devices—VURST, you are helping zheir kapitalist economy!"

Riehm, Hensel and Arnheiter all with their mouths full and sandwiches in hand, shook their heads frantically and pointed at each other.

"Oh nein, Oberführer." Storch interceded "Plesent from Mrs Ackleberry across zhe stleet."

"Oh!" their leader said tilting his head and shifted his baton to hold it by the end caps "Oh! Zhats okay zhen."

"It ees, Oberführer?" Storch inquired

"Vhy yes!" the leader nodded knowingly, light flickering off his monocle. "I mean—ve may be evil enemy agents verking to tear down zheir kapitalist regime, freedom of speech und vay of life as zhey know it for vengeance und profit, vut—ve are not bad neighbors. Free kapitalist dessert eveyvun!"

"Hurraaaaaaaa!"

Thanks for getting this far! Hope you'll finish the entire fan-fic!

Again translations for non-German speakers via Google Translate:

"Hurraaaaaa! Sieg! Sieg! Sieg! Sieg!"

Hurray! Victory! Victory! Victory! Victory!